AFV M113 tracks; How to assemble?

Are you using the vinyl (rubber) tracks? If so, use a source of heat, like a heated screwdriver blade or X-Acto knife blade. Use the heat to mushroom the ends of the pins after they have been inserted into the holes.

Thanks for the response, but no, the separate track links sold by AFV.

Lance

The set you showed is a soft plastic band track. Some manufacturers use vinyl, which has to be heat joined, as it does not respond to solvents or most super glues. The little prongs at one end are pushed through the mating holes in the adjacent link on the other end, and a heated blade tip is pressed onto the pin to soften it. Then press the warm, softened plastic down with your fingertip to form a soft rivet. If this fails to hold, staples can be sustituted. More recent releases from Tamiya and AFV Club use a styrene-vinyl blend for the soft plastic tracks which can be joined with ordinary liquid cement. Test the cement on a piece of scrap sprue to see which type of plastic was used in your set. WARNING: If it is the glueable soft plastic, use only acrylic and other water based paints and washes on it, as enamels, lacquers and mineral spirits will cause it to dry out and crumble within days.

The most recent AFV individual track kits are workable. If this set is like the set they did for the M41 tank, the links just snap together. If they are like the German halftrack links, the track pad is separate and traps the pins inside the adjacent link when it is glued in place. Once assembled, you can leave them loose, or install them and "freeze" them in place with small amounts of liquid cement. The styrene used in these track sets is delicate, so beware of using "hot" thinners for washes during the weathering stage. Lacquer thinners will simply dissolve the track pins and they will fall apart. If you have non-workable separate link track (like that from Skybow), press-fit them together using plastic or wooden strips as a jig to keep them straight. At this point, you can apply a slow-setting liquid cement like Testors and immediately attach the run to the tank, bending the still soft links around the idler and drive sprockets. Some prefer to do two half-runs with an unglued link at the front and back so they can be removed for painting. Alternatively, you can press-fit the links as before, then use a strip of tape to hold the run together while you drape it around the running gear. Using a fine brush (and keeping clear of the strip of tape) add a drop of cement in each joint. Once set, pull the tape off.